new brake lines? | FerrariChat

new brake lines?

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by ralessi, Jul 14, 2005.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. ralessi

    ralessi Formula 3

    May 26, 2002
    1,093
    Houston, TX
    Full Name:
    Rikk
    #1 ralessi, Jul 14, 2005
    My girlfriend's '95 Lincoln Continental apparently has brake lines that are beginning to rust through. She took it to a dealership and they said that Ford no longer makes the brake lines for this car, so in order to fab some new ones it will cost $700. Does this seem right? Considering it was going to cost 2-300 to buy an replace them before, where is this extra $400 dollars coming from?

    I really don't know anything about this, but aren't lines just tubes connecting the caliper to the master cylinder? They are steel brake lines, so maybe this has something to do with the expense? Anyone know some good aftermarket solutions that may fit the bill? I'm really at a loss here and $700 seems a bit excessive.
     
  2. SRT Mike

    SRT Mike Two Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    23,343
    Taxachusetts
    Full Name:
    Raymond Luxury Yacht
    #2 SRT Mike, Jul 14, 2005
    its probably because they will need to fabricate the lines from bare tubing which requires patience and time with a bender and flaring tool.

    Are you mechanically inclined? I made my own brake lines for my old race car Camaro. It's not too bad... you can buy a tubing bender at the store, a flaring tool, and the bare tube stock. You remove the old lines and bend the new ones to match as close as you can the old ones. The steel lines are a bit flexible so they don't need to be dead nuts perfect, because you can wiggle them once they are on to get bolt locations to line up, etc.

    Then, you use the flaring tool to flare the ends, put the fittings on and you're good to go.

    If you could do it yourself, I would imagine you would be paying maybe $100 or less for the materials, maybe $150 with the flaring tool and bender.

    This is a job any mechanic could do, so long as he's done it before and knows what he's doing. Shop around a little and IMO don't be afraid to call and get prices from various shops, even some of the smaller operations since they may have a better deal for you anyway.
     
  3. ralessi

    ralessi Formula 3

    May 26, 2002
    1,093
    Houston, TX
    Full Name:
    Rikk
    #3 ralessi, Jul 14, 2005
    Thanks for the response. I've called around a bit and it seems like this dealership just hasn't done things like this before, or is jacking up the price for lack of knowledge (of us). Sorry about the wrong forum as well to whoever happened to move it :)
     

Share This Page